page_title: Lisa the Iconoclast
section_title: Cultural references
hierarchical_section_title: Lisa the Iconoclast / Cultural references
context_page_description: "Lisa the Iconoclast" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 18, 1996. In the episode, Lisa writes an essay on Springfield founder Jebediah Springfield for the town's bicentennial. While doing research, she learns he was a murderous pirate who viewed the town's citizens with contempt. Lisa and Homer try to reveal the truth about Jebediah but only anger Springfield's residents. It was originally advertised in commercials as a Presidents Day special episode. It aired the day before Presidents Day.
  The episode was written by Jonathan Collier and directed by Mike B. Anderson. It was Anderson's first directing role and the story was inspired by the 1991 exhumation of President Zachary Taylor. Donald Sutherland guest-starred as the voice of Hollis Hurlbut, a part that was written specifically for him. The episode includes several references to Colonial and Revolutionary America. It contains a scene of dialogue between George Washington and Lisa in which he makes a reference to “Kentuckians”. It also features Gilbert Stuart's unfinished 1796 painting of George Washington.
context_section_description: The Historical Society of Springfield contains references to historical figures and facts. The episode features Gilbert Stuart's unfinished 1796 painting of George Washington and tells a fictional backstory of how it came to be. In reality, the painting was unfinished and it did not have a part torn off. Hurlbut mentions the American revolutionaries William Dawes and Samuel Allyne Otis as equals to Jebediah Springfield. When Lisa passes out the "Wanted for treason" posters, it is a reference to those featuring John F. Kennedy, which were circulated in Dallas prior to his assassination. Hurlbut claims Springfield's confessions are "just as fake" as the will of Howard Hughes and the diaries of Adolf Hitler, both of which are proven forgeries. The opening couch gag shows the Simpson family in blue boxes similar to the style of The Brady Bunch.
  Chief Wiggum is singing "Camptown Races" from 1850 by Stephen Foster ventriloquised with the skull of Jebediah Springfield. Lisa's dream in which Washington and Springfield are fighting is a reference to Lethal Weapon. When Lisa is telling the people at Moe's Tavern about the real history of Jebediah Springfield, they all sit with their mouths open. This is a reference to a scene in the film The Producers from 1968. When Homer knocks over Ned Flanders in order to take over his job as town crier, it is a reference to the film National Lampoon's Animal House from 1978. Lisa's decision to hide the truth to preserve the myth of Jebediah Springfield is a reference to the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In addition to these cultural references, at least one author has compared this episode to Friedrich Nietzsche's short work On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life.
caption: Gilbert Stuart's unfinished 1796 painting of George Washington, also known as The Athenaeum, plays an important part in "Lisa the Iconoclast".
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